PlaySmelter 2019, Sudbury’s only festival of new work for the theatre, returns April 30-May 4 and this year it’s all about the women: creators, voices, and stories.

PlaySmelter returns to its roots: presenting fresh, “first-look” readings of new theatrical works from Northern and rural creators. As always, there will be food, drink and lively discussion with the artists following each presentation.

All events will take place at the Sudbury Theatre Centre, 170 Shaughnessy St. Tickets to each of the play readings are $12 and full festival passes are $40. Tickets, as well as the full festival program, are available at www.playsmelter.ca.

This year features six new plays. Homegrown writers Sarah Gartshore, Garrett Carr, Kim Fahner and Matthew Heiti will be joined by Goderich librettist Taylor Marie Graham and Calgary playwright Michaela Jeffrey.

Returning to Sudbury to lead a master class is Governor General’s Award-winning playwright Colleen Murphy, and director Laurel Green. Green, who grew up in Sudbury and attended Sudbury Secondary School, returns to lead the Master Class on Directing.

There will also be an essential session on “Getting Published” for emerging playwrights, led by Annie Gibson, publisher of Playwrights Canada Press, in association with local publisher Latitude 46. Gibson will be hosting a table of recent titles for sale at the Festival and offering a special discount.

A cornerstone of the festival this year will be Regional Women Lead: A Grassroots Approach to Gender Parity for Women in Theatre. A result of a Canada Council Sector Innovation and Development Award received by Pat the Dog Theatre Creation, this provides supports for professional women theatre creators across Canada. The award is National, significant and will be rolled-out at PlaySmelter 2019.

“We’re thrilled to bring Regional Women Lead programming to PlaySmelter this year,” said artistic director Lisa O’Connell, “We’ve always known that the stories and voices of the women in our community are incredible. This recognition gives us the opportunity to spread the word nationally.”

The PlaySmelter New Work Theatre Festival is made possible through funding from Canadian Heritage, Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the City of Greater Sudbury. PlaySmelter is produced by Pat the Dog Theatre Creation (www.patthedog.org).

A catalyst for new plays, Pat the Dog Theatre Creation provides an essential home for the creation of extraordinary new works of Canadian theatre. Founded in 2006, Pat the Dog has created and produced award-winning plays which have won and been nominated for many national honours.

WROL (Without Rule of Law) By Michaela Jeffrey April 30, 8 p.m. Judy Blume meets Rambo, WROL. (Without Rule of Law) is a darkly comic coming-of-age story for complicated times. Convinced the world at large can’t be trusted to adequately protect the well-being of adolescent girls in the event of an apocalypse (or just in general), a determined troupe of 8th grade ‘Doomers’ are committed to preparing for survival in the post-collapse society they anticipate inheriting.

Frog Song: An Opera for Children By Taylor Marie Graham, with music by William Rowson May 1: 8 p.m. A magical and modern-day fairy tale opera for children, Frog Song is a warm and wild tale that explores what it’s like to grow up today. Not everyone wants to kiss the frog.

Shots By Garrett Carr May 2: 6 p.m. Inspired by the shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, Shots is an interview-based play that explores how a tragic event can affect people thousands of miles away. A stunning new LGBTQ work by and for our community.

Remains By Sarah Gartshore May 2: 8 p.m. Remains is a script that finds its home within Shkagamik-Kwe’s Project Uncle, a celebration of Indigenous men. Remains is song, celebration, and a low rumbling. We have all experienced loss but it is not always easy to identify what was lost, cut or ripped from our lives. To begin their healing journey Dust and Bone must rumble with their truths and identify the remains.

Letters From the Man in the Moon By Kim Fahner May 3: 6 p.m. Letters to the Man in the Moon is the story of how one young girl deals with the death of her father in a tragic mining accident. Beyond the immediacy of grief, and of exploring the bond that exists between fathers and daughters, it is a play that speaks to the tenacity of the human spirit, and to the ways in which love can transcend time and space.

Aviatrix By Matthew Heiti May 3: 8 p.m. Aviatrix is a darkly comic fantasy about the final, mysterious flight of Amelia Earhart. In 1937, the famous pilot embarks on a record-breaking round-the-world trip. Dashing through exotic ports-of-call with her trusty navigator Fred, a cranky disembodied voice, Amelia races against time and the spectre of a demonic red plane. Aviatrix is a play about mortality and what we leave behind us in the wake of our lives.

Professional Development Sessions (No charge for these events)

Getting Published with Annie Gibson, publisher, Playwrights Canada Press, and Latitude 46. Featuring plays for sale with a special discount of 50 per cent for purchases of three or more books. Open to the public May 2: 5 to 7:30 p.m.

Playwright Master Class Led by Colleen Murphy (contact Lisa O’Connell, lisa@patthedog.org, for registration). May 3 and May 4: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Regional Women Lead: A Grassroots Approach to Gender Parity for Women in Theatre. The particular focus of the festival this year is made possible by the Regional Women Lead initiative. A result of a Canada Council Sector Innovation and Development Award received by Pat the Dog Theatre Creation, Regional Women Lead provides supports for professional women theatre creators across Canada. The award is national, significant and will be rolled-out at PlaySmelter 2019.